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Frank Reid © 2008

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Dec 15, 2009, 1:42:05 PM12/15/09
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If you count all the birds you would get in the Twelve Days of
Christmas (go with the original meanings for each item), how many
birds would you have?
Frank Reid

s g

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Dec 15, 2009, 3:31:19 PM12/15/09
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Easy. I'd have zero birds.

Frank Reid © 2008

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Dec 15, 2009, 3:38:49 PM12/15/09
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But a crap load of fly tying materials.
Frank Reid

Giles

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Dec 15, 2009, 9:05:13 PM12/15/09
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On Dec 15, 2:38 pm, Frank Reid © 2008 <flytye...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Dec 15, 2:31 pm, s g <stan.g...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Dec 15, 1:42 pm, Frank Reid © 2008 <flytye...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > If you count all the birds you would get in the Twelve Days of
> > > Christmas (go with the original meanings for each item), how many
> > > birds would you have?
> > > Frank Reid
>
> > Easy.  I'd have zero birds.

"Ring around the rosy
Pocket full of posies...."

O.k., I get the general concept of euphemism, but this is the first
indication I've ever encountered that suggested there was a hidden
meaning in the twelve days of x-mas. What's up?

giles
who.....yes.....knows he could look it up himself. just about ANYbody
can do that......and ruin a good story.

> But a crap load of fly tying materials.
> Frank Reid

One suspects that they should be well washed before use, eh?

giles

Frank Reid © 2008

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Dec 15, 2009, 9:25:09 PM12/15/09
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> O.k., I get the general concept of euphemism, but this is the first
> indication I've ever encountered that suggested there was a hidden
> meaning in the twelve days of x-mas.  What's up?

Evidently, the 5 golden rings are ring neck pheasants. The first 7
items in the song are all birds (except the pear tree).
Frank Reid

Giles

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Dec 15, 2009, 9:56:09 PM12/15/09
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Oh.

Rats.

I was thinking there was some sort of hidden early modern English
colloquial reference to female body parts or
something....partridge=quail=bird.....pear=pair=well, you know, a
pair.....tree....trunk....forks....fork=crotch.....etc.

sigh! :(

By the way, the ring-necked pheasant's ring is actually kinda white,
ainna? :)

giles
who confesses he was all atwitter wondering what all those lords were
leaping about.

rdean3...@bellsouth.net

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Dec 15, 2009, 10:32:30 PM12/15/09
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7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 28, if you count each once, if not, 1 + 3 + 6 + 10,
etc.

What's the "angle?" This isn't somehow related to that nonsense about it being
some secret English Catholic thing, is it? If so, the song isn't even English,
it's French, and got some "hinkey" translations.

TC,
R

Giles

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Dec 15, 2009, 10:38:44 PM12/15/09
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On Dec 15, 9:32 pm, rdean3REM...@bellsouth.net wrote:
> On Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:42:05 -0800 (PST), Frank Reid © 2008
>
> <flytye...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >If you count all the birds you would get in the Twelve Days of
> >Christmas (go with the original meanings for each item), how many
> >birds would you have?
> >Frank Reid
>
> 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 28, if you count each once, if not, 1 + 3 + 6 + 10,
> etc.
>
> What's the "angle?"  This isn't somehow related to that nonsense about it being
> some secret English Catholic thing, is it?  If so, the song isn't even English,
> it's French, and got some "hinkey" translations.
>
> TC,
> R

Idiot.

g.

s g

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Dec 17, 2009, 10:17:50 AM12/17/09
to

On my part, the answer is simply nitpicking. Counting the birds in
the rhyme in no way passes possession of the birds to me, thus I would
have zero birds. QED.

Stan (56 years in and still no fun at parties)

Giles

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Dec 17, 2009, 11:39:45 AM12/17/09
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Hm.....

O.k., let's pick a nit. It may or may not be true that merely
"counting the birds in the rhyme" would not put the birds in your
possession.....there's no way to know based on the available
information. However, the proposition as stated by Frank stipulates
that you count the birds that "you would get." In short, acquisition
of the birds is not a potential outcome, it is a given. Aside from
arriving at a total that might be or might not be correct, whatever
might or might not happen as a result of counting isn't germain.

In the future, you might want to hold your QED in abeyance until you
can find someone to determine for you just what is to be demonstrated.

> Stan (56 years in and still no fun at parties)

That part we believe.

g.
and in case anyone is interested, the correct total is 224 IF one
subscribes to the dubious theory that "five gold rings" refers to
pheasants. 184 if not. :)

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